Continuous Tinkering
Leads to Howling Success!

Matt Perkins of Coyote Design checks out an ankle foot orthotic in the Coyote Lab.  

Boise, Idaho's Coyote Design invents, designs, refines and manufactures orthotic and prosthetic (P&O) devices that help the physically challenged adapt to their circumstances and environments. Lead Coyote, Matt Perkins (left), is a world-class alpine skier and triathlete who relied upon focus, determination, hard work and desire to rise to the top of his sports. Coyote Design uses those same traits to develop devices that are, in Matt’s words, “low tech, high function and affordable”.

Matt was honored to carry the Olympic Torch on its journey to the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.

For Matt, designing and manufacturing P&O devices is personal. Born with proximal femoral focal deficiency of the left leg, Matt slides, glides and rolls wearing an above the knee prosthetic. Introduced to skiing as a youngster by his father, Dale, Matt rose to the top of the sport and spent four years with the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. 

One of the high points of Matt's athletic career was competing in the 1998 Paralympics in Nagano, Japan. Matt retired from the Ski Team in 2002 to a sedate life that includes skiing for fun and training on the bike, road and in the water for the occasional triathlon. That occasional Tri includes the Triathlon World Championships where Matt took the top spot from 2006 through 2008 after finishing third in his inaugural event in 2005.

Matt’s father, Dale is certified in Prosthetics and Orthotics (CPO) and works directly with P&O patients at Rehab Systems Incorporated (RSI), a firm he founded 1994 in Twin Falls, Idaho. Dale himself is a below the knee amputee and athlete who holds his own on the amputee golf circuit. Last May, Dale hit two hole in ones in the same round. Golf Magazine says the odds of doing that are 1 in 67 million! You have a 1 in 5000 chance of being struck by lightning! WOW!

Working directly with patients at RSI inspired Matt and Dale to search for better products to solve patient issues.  In 1999, the pair decided to take some of their best ideas from napkin to reality and Coyote Design was born.

When Matt was a child, he struggled to use adult prosthetic components because there were no parts for pediatrics. Designed by a big kid for little kids, Coyote's Grommet™ Lock  is a pediatric-only device that is lightweight, durable and easy to engage.

The TechHelp New Product Development (NPD) Team at Boise State University includes Boise State Engineering Students Dave Adamson, Blake Young, Nathan Kerns and Travis Dean. Kneeling L-R are New Product Development Associate, Blaise Lawless and New Product Development Manager Steve Hatten.

Coyote’s practical approach to product design and development does not preclude the use of high tech. When needed, Matt can turn to the New Product Development Lab at Boise State University to tap TechHelp’s deep well of engineering and new product development expertise. “Being able to match TechHelp’s engineering and design strength to our patient and technical usage ability makes for a strong combination,” said Matt.

Matt figures that using TechHelp helped him avoid $20K in equipment purchases and $10K in related investments. He was able to avoid $30K in other costs.

Using TechHelp to help bring new and revised products to market helped Coyote increase sales by $50K annually and retain sales of $5K.

“TechHelp has been really good to us,” continued Matt. “The TechHelp Team is fast, efficient and gives us the ability to see the product on a screen and as a physical prototype so we can work out minor issues before we go to production.”

 
Travis Dean of TechHelp and Boise State University uses advanced software to solve design issues at the New Product Development Lab at BSU.  

TechHelp New Product Development Manager, Steve Hatten enjoys the unique mechanical engineering projects Coyote throws to his pack of Boise State Engineering students at the lab.

Said Hatten, "The small size of Coyote's multi-functional mechanical devices makes for interesting design challenges. We've worked on new devices and on improving existing products. The Stereo Lithography Apparatus (SLA) rapid prototyping machine at the College of Engineering allows us to design and test alternate iterations easily. The SLA machine helps us stay focused on solving the design problem, rather than on manufacturing small and intricate parts."

Matt says that Coyote Design is committed to continual “tinkering” in the development of P&O devices and that the company will need ongoing assistance from TechHelp.

  
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